Modern, high end race cars are automatics.

No, they're sequential manuals*. Unless you're talking about drag racing, where automatics are common.

*Edit: Or they can also be sequential semi-automatics if you want to be extra pedantic. But personally I'd classify a transmission based on whether the driver has to select the desired gear, or if the computer selects the appropriate gear without driver input, because that's the thing that matters in the end.